Goals from Corentin Tolisso (eighth minute), Ernest Nuamah (stoppage time of the first half), Yéremy Pino (50th minute) and Pavel Sulc, with Daichi Kamada scoring for Palace with nine minutes remaining.
Pierre Sage, who managed Lyon from November 2023 to January 2025, lost his return to the club days after his Palace side beat Nottingham Forest, managed by his predecessor Oliver Glasner, on Sunday, 11 October.
Kamada finished from six yards to make it 3-2 with nine minutes remaining, but Palace could not find a third goal and the hosts held on.
Lyon took the lead in the eighth minute, when Corentin Tolisso reacted first to put away a loose ball after Palace failed to clear a corner from the right. It was Palace's first away match in the Europa League, and the visitors struggled through a quiet first half without a shot on target. Ernest Nuamah doubled the home side's advantage in stoppage time at the end of the half, finishing low from a cross by Keito Nakamura. Lyon moved the ball quickly and found gaps in the Palace defence, which Nuamah used to finish from the edge of the six-yard box.
Palace came out for the second half with more purpose and reduced the deficit in the 50th minute. A short corner was worked to Tyrick Mitchell and then Adam Wharton, whose first-time pass found Yéremy Pino, who fired the ball into the net to bring it to 2-1. Palace had further chances to equalise, but Pavel Sulc restored Lyon's two-goal cushion with a backheel. Sage made changes just after the hour, bringing on Eddie Nketiah and Daichi Kamada for Ismaila Sarr and Jorgen Strand Larsen. Kamada then finished from six yards with nine minutes remaining to make it 3-2, but Palace could not find the equaliser and the hosts held on.
Ismaila Sarr, a Senegal international who won the Conference League golden boot last season, was starting for Palace for the first time this season. Sarr forced Dominik Greif to tip an effort away before the referee booked him for handball. Sarr insisted he had nodded the ball toward the Lyon goal, but the referee disagreed, and the decision cost Palace what would have been a corner. Palace also protested for a penalty after Nuamah brought down Kamada, and the incident was checked.
Sage returned to the club he managed from November 2023 to January 2025, only days after Palace beat Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Sunday, 11 October. The Forest manager is Oliver Glasner, Sage's predecessor at Palace. Elsewhere in the same Europa League round, Milan beat Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 with an Alphadjo Cissè hat-trick, and Bayer Leverkusen won 4-0 away to take the top spot in the standings. After two of their eight league-phase matches, Palace have three points.
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Pierre Sage lost his return to Lyon, the club he managed, as Palace conceded three times in France. Daichi Kamada's goal with nine minutes remaining brought Palace within one, but they could not find an equaliser.
AI text based on reports by Irish Examiner, The Guardian and BBC. Published .